Niha Roman Temples

About this place

Niha is a village in the Bekaa Valley, about 8 km north of Zahle and 43 km east of Beirut in a straight line, off the main road to Baalbek. It is famous for the Roman ruins on its outskirts, especially two lower temples dating from the 1st century AD. The village lies in a small canyon at around 1,100 metres, ringed by hills that rise in sheer drops of up to 150 metres; the canyon narrows and climbs to the area called the Hosn at about 1,350 metres, and the mountains continue up to the summit of Sannine. The name Niha is Syriac and suggests a calm, peaceful place. The great temple's massive walls of carefully cut limestone blocks still stand, with remains of its facade, columns and a broad stairway leading inside, surrounded by pines and greenery under the encircling mountains. Visitors walk between the two temples, climb the stairs and admire the huge stone blocks, and can go on up the valley to the Hosn site. The visit makes a stop on the way from Zahle to Baalbek. Check the UK Foreign Office's current Lebanon guidance before you go.